1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera equipped with a lamp lighting controlling device that lights a lamp to alleviate red eye.
2. Description of Related Art
Lamps are generally used as a light emitting device to alleviate camera red eye. Since red eye alleviation lamps are generally lit by conventional fixed-voltage drives, when electrical current is repeatedly passed to the lamp as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 a rush value IP1 of eight to ten times the stationary current IL flows to the lamp directly after the flow of the electrical current. This weakens the lamp and drastically influences the life of the lamp. In addition, the electrical source voltage of the MCU that controls the circuit system through the rush current varies to cause abnormal resetting of the MCU. This may also cause adverse affects on the MCU operation. To control this rush current, stationary current driving may be employed or the system may be preheated by applying a current of 20% of the rated capacity while the lamp is not lit.
However, in systems (such as cameras) that use batteries as the electrical source, when current is applied while the lamp is not lit as described above, the expended current increases to shorten the battery life. If stationary current driving is employed, it is necessary to construct a new stationary current circuit. This increases the number of circuit components, which is undesirable because of space utilization. Furthermore, the lighting commencement becomes sluggish.